Ministry of Railways
ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS MAITREE AND BANDHAN-HANDING OVER 10 DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES FROM INDIAN RAILWAYS TO BANGLADESH
Kolkata, 27 July, 2020
In a handing over ceremony held today, 10 Broad Gauge  locomotives were virtually flagged off to Bangladesh  from Gede Railway Station of Eastern Railway  by the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal. The event was also attended by the Minister of State for Railways, Shri Suresh C. Angadi. From the Bangladesh end, Minister of Railway, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abul Kalam Abdul Momen received the locomotives on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh.
Dr S. Jaishankar Hon'ble External Affairs Minister and Shri Piyush Goyal Minister for Railways flagging off 10 diesel locomotives for Bangladesh from Gede
The handing over of these locomotives, under the grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfils an important commitment made during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India, in October, 2019. In keeping with the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the locomotives have been suitably modified by the Indian side. These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh.
Speaking on the occasion, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said, “I am delighted to join this ceremony of handing over 10 locomotives to Bangladesh. I am glad to know that Parcel and container trains have been started between both the countries. This will open up new opportunities for our businesses. I am happy to note that movement of trade by rail has been ensured. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of essentials particularly, in the holy month of Ramadan was ensured.” He added that the parcel & container services are a cost effective mode of communication recently introduced by both the countries. Business communities of both the countries are extending support for running freight trains to move the wheels of economic development.
Indian Railways handed over 10 diesel locomotives to Bangladesh Railway as a step further towards Maitree & Bandhan
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Railways, said that the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh are based on trust and belief in the sphere of strategic & economic relations. He further stated that the cooperation of Railways is the hallmark in the Indo-Bangladesh relationship. He firmly affirmed that the Indian Railways is committed to the help in the development of the railway network in Bangladesh. He also mentioned about India’s neighbourhood policy following PM Shri Narendra Modi's vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas. He added that the leadership of both, India & Bangladesh, are committed to reviving the pre-1965 railway connection between the two countries- Out of the seven rail links that existed then, four are functional now. To further strengthen the rail connectivity in the region, one new rail link, between Agartala in India and Akhaura in Bangladesh is being constructed & financed under Grant Assistance of India, he stated. Shri Goyal even appreciated the yeoman’s service given by Railways in providing essential commodities, medicine, medicinal equipment and also transporting raw materials to run different industries in the lockdown periods in the wake of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation.
A ceremony regarding the handing over of locomotives at Gede
The Minister of Railways of Bangladesh Md. Nurul Islam Sujan thanked the Government of India for this gesture which will undoubtedly help Bangladesh Railways. He also mentioned that as a result of continuous support by India for the development of Railways in Bangladesh, both the passenger & freight traffic is increasing day by day.
Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh said, Indo-Bangladesh relations with the shared politics, culture, trade, energy, power, and many more emotional areas has ushered in a golden chapter of partnership of socio-economic development with this new move.
It is to be mentioned that to further strengthen the age old bilateral relations between the two countries as well as considering the technical and operational requirements, Indian Railways has handed over these 10 broad gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh Railways. These locomotives can run the full load of freight trains as well as passenger trains up to a speed of 120 kmph. The current cost of these 10 locomotives is ₹ 60 crore  which is being borne by the Government of India.
Apart from two passenger carrying trains viz. Maitree Express and Bandhan Express, substantial amount of export & import trade also takes place between the countries where regular freight train services continue between India and Bangladesh across their border at four Railway interchange points viz. Gede–Darshana, Petrapole–Benapol, Singhabad–Rohanpur and Radhikapur–Birol. Different commodities like stones, fly ash, foodgrains, onion, POL and other miscellaneous traffic are moving through freight trains. There is huge demand and scope for scaling up trade through rail routes. At present, nearly 100 freight trains interchange on a monthly basis between Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railways. With the handing over of 10 diesel locomotives from Indian Railways to Bangladesh side, the supply and chain link of materials is likely to strengthen substantially to further enhance rail movement between the two nations.
The Railways on both the sides are also working on upgrading other railway infrastructure to facilitate higher volumes of import and export trade through the freight trains. These include opening of interchange points by constructing railway tracks, upgrading unloading/loading facilities at terminal points and augmenting maintenance infrastructure at Bangladesh Railways etc.
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